Government Art College artists such as Sunil Das, often took to painting landscapes en plein air, or outdoors. They used sketching and painting as a form of travelogue-ing. The bustle of the Front Bazar is palpable as crowds move through the alleys in this painting. Sunlight bathes the valley with the lazy glow of a late morning, casting cool shadows against the bundle of houses. A solitary bullock-cart trudges along the bridge, while long boats await their rowers underneath. The mighty Himalayas stand guard behind the quaint town as it buzzes with activity, blissful in its mundanity. The artist’s attention to detail brings alive the scene; one can almost hear the bells on the bullock cart, the calls of hawkers, the bustle of conversation in the market and feel the warmth of the sun on their skin washing away the cool chill of the mountain air.

The dark hills covered with foliage stand silently on either side of the blue-green river. A tranquil stillness rings through their deep shadows and high peaks, which echo with solitude. Billowy clouds float gently across a cool blue sky. Strokes of white on the canvas create calm ripples over a gentle river. The Teesta glows welcomes the colours of the hills, mirroring its deep greens and darkness within its vast waters. It glows white in the distance, engaged in a camaraderie with the tint of the vast skies above.

Self-taught artist, Indra Dugar spent his childhood in Santiniketan, surrounded by nature away from the bustle of urban life which inspired his landscapes celebrated for their stunning representation of natural beauty. The trees dominate the landscape in this painting. Their imposing figures are set against the soft light of the last embers of dusk. The stature of the trees projects strength and endurance, as they stand tall against the changing light and the changing of seasons. The depth in the shade of green that the artist has used on the trees creates a sense of timelessness. With the darkness of the night enveloping them, the trees almost appear menacing as they stand as a symbol of nature’s endurance.

Bireswar Sen’s ability to paint the expanse of the Himalayas in a minuscule format was his greatest strength as an artist as well as an ode to the artist whom he admired most—Nicholas Roerich. Sen’s small watercolours were, however, rich in details. In this landscape, a man accompanied by a smaller figure, walks past a rocky outcrop against a background of high mountain peaks. The sun shines dimly above the mountains, alerting the figures to the oncoming of daybreak, as they walk on. Below them lies a valley asleep, the river glinting as it flows near sparse trees lining its banks.

He frequently turned to myths, fables and fairy tales for artistic inspiration—including stories he had heard from his grandmother. However, in his work you can feel the disquieting shadows that may have been residues of the horrors he saw around him in his growing years during the 1940s. In this painting, a man astride a horse appears to be on an enigmatic journey of destruction, much like Lawrence’s ‘rocking-horse winner’ Paul who rides his horse into a hypnotic state of mind to predict horsing game winners. Both Paul and this rider are surrounded by darkness, eyes sharp in their single-minded motive to fulfill their purpose.

Born in Sivasagar in Assam, Hemanta Misra started painting landscapes that he saw around him from a very young age. It’s the sleepy town of Shillong, painted at a time when Shillong, but not Guwahati, was the capital of Assam when Meghalaya and Assam were undivided. The skies are cloudy, and it will probably rain in a while over the quiet houses painted with thick strokes in a bright colour palette to echo holiday town, from which no one has stirred just yet.

Japanese painter-printmaker Yoshida Hiroshi was an avid traveller and visited India in November 1930, spending the next few months sketching and making notes. He returned to Japan after four months and produced exquisite prints of scenes from his trip. Benaras, as expected, was on his itinerary and he paid tribute to the vibrant city with this woodblock print. It’s a busy ghat, possibly extremely early in the morning when the ghat is not as crowded as later in the day, as the first worshippers pay homage to the rippling, once clear, waters of the Ganges. Benares’ array of forts loom behind them, once bustling with people – now empty.